Look Ma!

It is official!

It is not a fluke!

Kean is crawling!

And while he won't win any awards for style or form... his army crawl is the real McCoy!

 It's as if all that work and practice has finally clicked. 
He's been doing it on and off, a bit here and there, every day this week.

He's worked so doggone hard!

You'll notice Reese right in there.

He has a built in cheering section at his side at all times.

P.S.  I heard from the doc today about his CAT Scan.

He wants us to come in tomorrow to talk and check some things.

It appears Kean's left inner ear has filled up with fluid again.

Likely, he'll have to go under again to get that tube in his ear replaced.

Stay tuned....

A Memorable Memorial Day

Weather-wise, it was quite the crummy day.

The girls and I spent it scrubbing out the play-house, with Greer complainin' that she was freezing to death.

Late in the afternoon, we headed down to the cemetery -

where the weather couldn't have been more beautiful.

We visited my cousin's childrens' gravesites... the three who drowned when their

car slid off the road into a pond during a storm.

It is still heartbreaking four years later.

We also took flowers to my nephew's little marker.

He only lived for about 6 hours.

 I was very emotional this year, visiting his grave.

I kept thinking how easily it could have been Kean's grave we were visiting.

We are so blessed to have our miracle boy.

 I love this picture, especially.

It's as if he's saying... hey cousin, I remember you from heaven.

Because Eight is Great!

Our super sweet Greer turns 8 today. 

She's so very excited to be turning 8 because in our church that means she gets to get baptized.

She also has a tooth, so loose, it's hanging on by less than a thread.

She was hoping to keep it in there, so she could actually "lose" it on her birthday.

 I have to admit, I'm relieved we had to postpone her party until next week due to weather issues.

This week has been my h&%$# week and I'm too pooped to party.

Monday Kean had his hearing tests.

Tuesday he had a 2 1/2 hour fun fest at his eye doctors.  (His Nystagmus-- his shaky eyes -- have settled down to the level where he will likely stay the rest of his life).

And on Wednesday, we spent a lllloooooonnnnnngggggg day back at our ol' stomping grounds, St. Luke's

for a CAT Scan.

Yes, they had to put him under for the procedure.

And yes, he does look tiny, doesn't he?

 But he did great-- coming out of it in fairly good spirits.

I won't go into the vomiting episode later that night.

The docs are wondering if something is wrong with his inner ears etc.

He doesn't seem to like being in the upright position.

So we await the results.

And we came home very, very exhausted.

Reese, meanwhile bee-bopped around the Zoo with some of my cousins and their kids.

She had a marvelous time, as evidenced by the picture below.

Out cold!

Reesey's Big Day

Well, she's mastered her ABC's.  She's learned the fine art of raising her hand and taking turns

and she's even able to add a few numbers.

Byron was hoping she'd learn Latin (but alas, maybe that will come next year)!

 We LOVED Reese's graduation from Pre-school.

The children sang the cutest songs, did the Pledge Of Allegiance with Sign Language

and did a "show and tell" of what they all want to be when they grow up.

Reese said she wants to be a mom (no surprise there, since she already thinks she is Kean's mom, not me).

My second favorite, was Annie, who said she wants to be an Ice Cream Scoop person when she gets big.

 Of course, Grammy and Grandpa came to witness the pomp and circumstance. (And Kean too).

 Guess who else came?

Kean's Physical Therapist, Pat (we love Pat and I swear, Reese believes she is Pat's assistant).

 And finally, we'll miss Miss Amber.

She has been one exceptional teacher and best of all, Reese adored her. 

Lucky for us, we'll still get to see her at church each Sunday.

Hard to believe tiny, little Reese is heading to Kindergarten!

Disneyland here we come... kinda.

My mom's subdivision held its annual neighborhood garage sale yesterday.

When the girls saw the flyer... they had a light bulb moment: 

a-ha, a chance to raise money for the Disneyland Fund.

So add it up... we spent an entire afternoon and evening going through their

toys, books and belonging.

We made 6 dozen cookies and lemonade

and we spent another evening setting it up at my mom's house.

Was it worth it?

You be the judge.

The girls made a staggering $55.32

That includes the 18 smackeroos my mom gave them for stuff she sold.

So for all the time-- not a huge haul.

But what do you expect when the kids were selling Barbies, Polly Pockets, books and stuffed animals

for anywhere from 10 cents to a buck.

The cookies and cold drink were the real gold-mine.

I mean, who could say no to Reesey asking if you'd like to buy a "coooookey"?

Here's my take:  for that amount of money, not worth it to me.

But what was priceless was what they learned:  organizing, pricing, selling, customer service and

commitment.  It was a long day.  We all have sunburns to prove it.

But, my did we have fun.

Keanut Update

Kean is so darn close to crawling.

When we practice with me working his legs... he's now doing most of the work.

And then today, I put a toy about six inches out of his reach... and he army crawled

(after a considerable amount of squirming and grunting)

to get it!

YIIIPPPPPEEEEE!

As for his medical update. 

We went in yesterday for a hearing test but postponed it

because he has wax in one of his ear tubes.

Today (we already had an appointment) we saw his E.N.T.

(Ear Nose and Throat doc)

The doctor tried cleaning the wax out...but couldn't get it.

So we now have to hope it somehow works its way out on its own

or he mentioned a surgery to put a new one in...

I won't let my head go there yet...

He also ordered a Cat Scan to see what's going on with the boy.

No worries, I'll keep ya posted.

These boots, oops, I mean legs are made for walkin'!

If you have no idea what my title is referring to... clearly you are either really young, not a connoisseur of hip music or have never heard of Nancy Sinatra!

Our little Kean has finally figured out that those legs and toes have a purpose.

Up until now, he's just used them to stick in his mouth or play with.

                                  He's putting weight on those little stumps... and you can tell he is so proud.

(We are too)!

I had to throw this picture in. 

The girls stayed up late Saturday night watching a movie.

Here's where we found H and G-- out cold.

I vaguely remember being able to actually sleep through the night

all skeewaumpous like this.



Tickling the Ivories

If you haven't had the pleasure of sitting through a nearly 3 hour

recital of your children and a gazillion other children plodding through

their piano (or cello or guitar or recorder or....), then clearly

you haven't lived.

Obviously, the highlights for us were our children's performances (duh)/

Here's Greer singing Do Re Mi...

 and Holland playing two numbers...

 The girls' piano/voice teacher, Shaleese also performed.

Let's just say, she was a far cry better than the students.

She truly stole the show!  Watch for her name in lights someday.

 The girls each played the piano...

 and sang a solo.  They are much braver than I. *

 Once they were done with their parts... they (and several other children)

escaped to the great outdoors.  So wish we could've joined them...

 There was even a cute baby goat to play with...

(so let's see... 3 hour recital indoors vs. baby goat and toys outdoors? Hmmm)

 Kean loved the recital.

OK, really, he loved all the attention he got.

* I come from a very musical extended family.  When I was in college, I was asked to sing a duet at my cousin's missionary farewell in church.  We practiced and all was fine.  I have a pleasantly passable voice.  But come the morning of the performance, we went to do a final run through and I was so nervous, my voice was quavering out of control.

My Aunt (I won't name any names to protect her), gave me half a Valium.

And I have to say, the performance was a breeze-- no big deal.

But from then on, the joke in my family is that I have to be on drugs to sing in public.

Let's not tell Holland and Greer that story!

Z is for Zoo!

We had a rough day yesterday.

Reese, Kean and I went to the Zoo, then had a picnic in the park.

I tell you it was agonizing.

The weather was in the 70's, everything was blooming

and the animals were out and about.

Today we are in the 80's.

But rain and wind and cool temps are making a comeback on Sunday.

Spring is such a tease!

I hauled Kean back to the doctor's today for his 21 month check-up.

Yes, you read that right.

Keanut is 21 months!  Wow!

He is growing, albeit slightly.

He is now up to 19 pounds 3 ounces.
He's put on a pound since his last check-up two months ago.

And we will gladly count that as progress.

He's healthy again and happy.

We are thankful for antibiotics in this household.

The Strep is gone.

Next week we'll start a round of testing to see why he's still not crawling,

why he's constantly arching backwards

and why he doesn't like sitting up or being on his tummy.

His docs and therapists think it all has something to do with his

vestibular issues or maybe some inner ear issues.

I'll keep you posted and keep your fingers crossed that it's nothing that can't be easily fixed...

or somewhat easily fixed.



Fits and Giggles

Just a little blip on our radar... I hope.

Kean was up much of last night-- just miserable.

We were headed to his Ear, Nose & Throat doctor today for some tests

and 7 minutes from the office, my cell phone rings -- the doc got pulled into

emergency surgery.

Kean was still pretty sick, so I called his Pediatrician and got him in.

Thank goodness.

Are you ready for this?

He has Strep Throat.

Poor little guy.

A high fever, a faucet for a nose and a very sore throat.

In a way, I'm so relieved it's that.

Antibiotics should do the trick and have him smiling again in a day or so.

Now for the giggles part...

We were going over spelling with Holland.

One of her words is rendezvous.

I read it out loud.

And she corrected me... "you mean wren-dez-vez." 

We laughed and laughed.

She should be right.

The English language is crazy.

Momma Mia Day

Mother's Day was a sweet, sweet Sunday.

The girls made me stay upstairs while they (with the help of Pops)

made a gourmet breakfast, took care of the baby and set the table

with fresh flowers.

My favorite detail was the placards-- even one for Kean!

 Of course, the gifts were such fun.

Pots for the plants on my kitchen windowsill, sparkly earrings, new dish towels...

 and a small pile of my very favorite candy bars... yum.

 As I said before, the homemade presents are always the very best.

Greer and Holland each made painted ceramic pots at school, cute, cute cards that tell me

how "awsum" I am... and a keeper of a booklet from Reesey.

Bless those sweet teachers for their thoughtfulness.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm stuck upstairs while the gang makes breakfast,

feeds Kean and gets everything ready for a very special Mother's Day.

Love this.

Byron took the girls out shopping last night to buy some gifts.

(My favorite are always the ones the girls make at school)...

I guess Greer went on and on about how Holland is always bossing her around

so she's like her mother... "therefore, my Mother's Day gift to you, is to let you have the front seat".

While shopping, they came across one of those negligee's with the thigh high hosiery and the snaps.

Byron said the girls were fascinated by it... but couldn't figure out what it was.

He just told them... he had no idea and they moved on...

Ha, ha.

Giddiup

Our good friends have brought their horses back.

They lived on our property last Spring and Summer - right up until about two weeks before the

fire swept through here and burned everything up.

I often think back to that day and thank my lucky stars I didn't have 3 horses

to try and evacuate, on top of trying to get my children, the rabbit, the dog and my friends

out of the way of the flames in the five minutes that we had.

Holland is horribly allergic to horses - but she loves them and wants to be a Veterinarian.

So we load her up with Benadryl so she can survive a little spin on the horses.

 It's nice to have them back.  I don't know about you, but there's something

calming (and majestic) about looking out your window and seeing horses grazing

in a field. 

Choose Your Battles

Since I'm  from Vegas and all, I'm about to start a little side line betting business

on who will ultimately prevail in the great battle to keep Kean's hearing aids on his ears.

He's one fast cowboy-- he can have one off before I can even blink.

So I've resorted to these little "pilot hats".

 Oh, I give him a few chances before I tie the hat on...

and lately we're having more hat-less days.

But it's still a battle.

One I'm told, I have to win.

Stay tuned.

 Kean did suffer his first "hearing aid" injury.

Reese was pushing him around in the Lego's container

and pushed him right up against the leather chair. 

His ear was pretty bruised for a few days.

Of course, Reese cried harder than Kean ever did.

Man, that girl adores that boy.